The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
The Fearless Vampire Killers, originally released in the United Kingdom as Dance of the Vampire is a 1967 cult vampire comedy by starring Polanski with his future wife Sharon Tate, along with Jack MacGowran and Alfie Bass, and Ferdy Mayne.
Plot
The elderly professor Abronsius (Jack MacGowran) and his assistant, Alfred(Polanski), go to a remote Transylvanian village looking for vampires. Alfred falls in love with the inn-keeper’s young daughter Sarah(Sharon Tate).
But the vampire count Krolock who lives in a castle outside the village spots her and wants her as his bride.
Notable scenes of the Fearless Vampire Killers
A notable scene is the ballroom scene. When the music stops only three people are visible in a huge mirror despite of a few dozen vampires.
The snow scenes are also very memorable with the castle of Count Krolock in the background.
Making of the Fearless Vampire Killers
Originally Roman Polanski wanted to shoot his film on location in and around a castle in Switzerland which he saw during a vacation, but as this was impossible, other locations in the Alps were found, along with studio shoots in England.
Roman Polanski had the ballroom completely copied behind a fake mirror with three doubles acting as the human protagonists.
Our view on the Fearless Vampire Killers
Dance of the Vampires isn’t a very typical offering from Roman Polanski. This is his first colour feature film and up until this point his films were decidedly left-field and arty. This one is a considerably more commercial offering. It’s effectively a parody of the British Hammer horror films that had been very popular up to this point. The sad thing that the viewer now knows is that Sharon Tate who was pregnant of Roman Polanski at the time was killed by the Manson family in 1969. Quentin Tarantino made an alternative reality in Once upon a time in Hollywood (2019) where Sharon Tate was rescued by Leonardo di Caprio.
Trailer
Where to buy
Where to stream
Details
Genre: Vampires
Released in: 1967
Era: sixties
Actors: Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate
Director: Roman Polanski
Poster artist: unknown
